Tag Archives: sponsored

Testing out a new food platform: Munch Ado

4 Nov

My day job is in digital media, so when people ask me to test out a new site or app in the food space, I am both delighted (I love what I do) and concerned (I’m very particular about the quality of the platforms I use online).  I have very little patience for apps/websites that do not work, make my life harder, or try to solve for a problem that doesn’t exist. But Munch Ado had an interesting proposition and I was happy to try it out (and they kindly gave me $100 towards using their service, which enabled me to treat some of my coworkers to a lunch delivery).

The pitch was that it’s a NY-based start-up that is working on “redefining food discovery and connecting restaurants with people (and vice versa).” Right now, I personally use a big combination of Seamless, Yelp, OpenTable, Eater, Chow, FourSquare, UrbanSpoon, and a few others for all my food needs. The idea of having this all in one place is appealing, though I was skeptical if there really could be a one-stop shop that combined all the best of each so I could find a restaurant, reserve a table, order food, and get deals all while taking reviews into consideration so I could find the best ones.

So does Munch Ado deliver?

First… a tour:

(Home screen)

 

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(Browse for restaurants by location)

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(See local restaurants on one map)

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(Look for deals… there were a number available for Hispanic Heritage earlier this week)IMG_9175

(Details of the deal)
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(Some more deal stuff… this on delivery)
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I liked a few of the features, namely that whether I was looking to dine in or dine out, it was all in one place. The idea that was most appealing to me is that I could not know where to go for dinner, pull up the app and look for fun deals in the area, and choose that way. So the “deals” aspect I think was the most interesting.

I was severely missing the reviews to help me decide, however. There are a few reviews but I don’t see any kind of ranking or way of sorting by reviews just yet (it automatically searches by distance, with A to Z, Best Match, and Price being the other options). Also, I didn’t get any easy prompt to add my review, so I think building that will be difficult at first unless they pull in reviews from other places.

My biggest hang-up: I am still not sure what allows a restaurant to qualify for their list, and it’s not like it was just listing the best restaurants, which makes me wonder how exactly I choose.  So picking a place to go is not as easy as I would have liked, leaving me flipping through the entire list of places that delivered to me at that time.

So when I ordered, I went with a restaurant I am already a fan of to deliver.  The process of ordering delivery was pretty easy (though, be warned, you can’t add tip until they deliver and you add it on the receipt) though I wish there was more information on each dish like there is in Seamless.  I also had no idea how long it would take to arrive until after I checked out (I might have missed this but not sure) and then when it was a bit late, I didn’t know who to contact or how.

We all did enjoy a lovely lunch delivery, however! (Thanks again from me and my coworkers, Munch Ado!)

The usability was nice and I liked the look and feel of the app. I also like the cheekiness of the messaging (though I wish they allowed opt in for text messaging rather than automatically sending).

Overall, I think Munch Ado has definite potential, but a key is that it has to do each function as well, if not better, than the individual sites/apps I currently use to truly replace them. I gave them some feedback on how to get closer to that goal, and they were SUPER receptive. So hopefully this is just the start of something fabulous.

Let me know what you think if you try it out!

 

Trying Tim Tam’s

23 Mar

I’m a member of BzzAgent, a site that allows you to sign up and then get free samples in return for reviewing them on the BzzAgent site (and optionally interacting with the brands through blogs and social media).   I don’t review most items that I get here on the blog, but when it’s food related and as good as Tim Tam’s, I have to share it with all of you.

I’ve heard a lot of whispered conversations about Tim Tams and how they were a great international treat.  I never got a chance to try one, so I was excited to be offered a sample pack to try.  I also assumed they were not available in the US since they are produced in Australia.  Now, however, apparently they ARE available at Target (which gives me more motivation to go to a Target to try that caramel flavor).

I was not expecting to like a packaged snack as much as I liked this.

They are a sturdy, satisfying size…

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And the inside is kind of the consistency of a Twix bar but with chocolate, and then the layer of chocolate cream inside is very tasty, and the chocolate on the outside tastes like premium quality chocolate.

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I am SUPER picky about my chocolate, so I was impressed. I also don’t LOVE eating most packaged snacks, but I would go out of my way to eat these.

I also saw that the “thing to do” is to bite off an end, put it in a hot beverage, and sip that through the cookie like a straw. I do not entirely understand, but I’m intrigued!

“Straw” or not, I loved these things (and Mike agreed).  I blame the pregnancy… but our package was gone in less than 2 days.  WHOOPS!

Thanks for sending me a free package, BzzAgent!  While I did get this for free, I was under no obligation to write about it at all. I just enjoyed them that much.  #GotItFree

 

Ragú National Pasta Day event

17 Oct

Happy National Pasta Day!

Now this is a day I can get behind.

This past week, Ragú was kind enough to extend an offer for me to come to a cooking event in honor of National Pasta Day.

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We went to a lovely cooking space, My Cooking Party Loft

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There was a twist, however, as all the recipes we would be cooking were IMPASTAS. (AKA… dishes made WITHOUT pasta and using veggies in their place).

First dish we were learning was a (super simple) cauliflower “mac” and cheese.

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We also learned about spaghetti squash with Chunky Tomato, Garlic, and Onion Ragú and veggies.

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And eggplant “lasagna” made with the classic sauce.

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First we had a quick demo of how to cut onions and garlic before learning how to prep the dishes by our enthusiastic and knowledgeable Chef Joanne Kohlhepp.

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Then we were to find our assigned partner and start to cook!  Making our own spin on the dishes.

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We each received a tray of some items that were precooked and the ingredients we would need, making it nice and easy.

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Then a table of ingredients to choose from to bump up our recipes and make them our own.DSCF3549

Of course, my selected addition to our dish was MEAT.  We grabbed some Pat LaFrieda ground beef and browned it up with onions, then added it to our eggplant lasagna.

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And the photographer even got an action shot as I layered and sauced.

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We also made the cauliflower “mac” and chee.  This was so easy.  Parboiled cauliflower, cheese sauce, topped with breadcrumbs toasted in butter.  We followed the recipe for this one and really enjoyed.

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I was partnered up with the lovely Pam from Triple Threat Mommy and Food Editor of The Shopping Mama.

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We had a great time preparing our dishes together, though you will notice that I have a homemade name tag below.  Why? You might ask… Well… smart me accidentally put the baking dish on top of my original name tag and I guess it stuck. So a few minutes later when we smelled something burning. Someone luckily checked on our dish and found my little name tag, hanging from the bottom of the casserole dish, about to go on fire.  Go me.

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All the bloggers did a great job at preparing our various dishes.DSCF3562

And we proudly gathered around our creations…

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Before sitting down to devour our meals together.

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It was a great event and the food really came out delicious.  We all enjoyed our meals and left very full.  I was impressed at how easy these recipes were (though having some things prepped and someone to clean everything up sure was nice) and all of these could be a very healthy, gluten-less weekday meal.  And I hardly missed the pasta!  (I really didn’t miss it too much… but come on… I LOVE pasta)

Ragú will be holding a Twitter Party later today if you want to join in on the fun and have a chance to win some prizes:

When: Friday, October 17, 2014 at 1PM EST
Where: #NationalPastaDay on Twitter

Follow: @Crowdtappers & @RaguSauce
Prizes: $725 in Visa gift cards
Questions: Ask @Crowdtappers

 Thanks, Ragú, for the invite!  While this was a sponsored event, all opinions are solely my own.